


Make You Feel My Love

by nucodiangelo



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Asexual Annabeth, Asexual Hazel, Asexual Percy, Asexual leo, Autistic Drew, Autistic Leo, College Student Nico, College Student Will, Depression, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mortal AU, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace Fluff, Self-Harm, Sleep Deprivation, Smut, Trans Annabeth, Trans Drew, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, Trans Thalia, Trans Will, idk nico is just overworked and sad and empty, its all pretty fucking gay, solangelo, will is a sunshine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-10-17 10:25:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10592088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nucodiangelo/pseuds/nucodiangelo
Summary: Will loves college life. He loves his campus, the atmosphere, his new friends, his roommate. What he doesn't love is a groggy next door neighbor that's always got dark bags under his eyes and a snarky mouth.





	1. will

**Author's Note:**

> yes, all my fics have song title titles... I'm very not creative on that front. I kept listening to Bad Behavior by the Maine and thinking about college solangelo and this happened.  
> also this fic will include all of my headcanons, for example: trans will, trans annabeth, lesbian rachel and reyna, asexual annabeth and leo  
> and like a few others, so like if u dont agree or dont like it then... 
> 
> I haven't really read through this, so like errors will be a thing.

Will had always thirsted for the day he would finally move out of his childhood home and into his own place. A place where he could finally really start his life. Of course, he would miss his mom, he would miss his friends back in Texas, and he would miss the sun and the warmth. However, as soon as he had gotten that acceptance letter from his dream school, all his instincts told him to hurry up and get out of here. He would never tell his emotional mess of a mom that, of course. She would cry whenever they talked about it for the next few weeks. Will loved his mom. She was his absolute everything. All that he really had. His father wasn’t much of a father figure, never really in Will’s life much. He had met him maybe three times, as far as he could remember, but Will didn’t hate the guy. He was actually quite fond of the egocentric bastard, although he always pretended to do so when he saw him. Apollo, Will’s dad, had an important and difficult lifestyle, and Will couldn’t really blame him for not staying in Texas with him and his mom. 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go up there with you?” She had asked Will on his last night home. He was packing his suitcase, filling it with literally anything he could think off. He was so eager to get going; he almost didn’t notice his mother had started tearing up as she sat on his bed, watching him. 

“Mom, don’t cry! I’ll be back home for thanksgiving, and then for Christmas… And Easter!” She let out a strangled sob, and Will felt his shoulders slouch. 

“Anyways, now you can focus on your job, and yourself, without feeling guilty for leaving me alone all the time” He tried, sitting down next to her and bumping her shoulder with his. She laughed, and the sound made warmth spread in Will’s chest. 

“I know, honey, I’ll just miss you terribly”

A lump formed in Will’s throat, and he had to bite his lip not to start crying along with her. He leaned his head down on her shoulder, breathing in the smell of her. Antibiotics and wash detergent, and a faint smell that was purely his mom’s own smell. Clean and familiar. Home. 

“I’ll miss you too mom, a lot”

 

Thinking back to that moment made Will feel much more alone than he had already, standing alone in his cold new dorm room. He had arrived on campus late last night and as soon as he had put covers on the bed on the left side of the room, he collapsed. This morning, he had breakfast in the cafeteria before taking a stroll of campus. It was huge, and Will got lost countless times, having to ask for directions more times than he would like to. There was countless different school buildings, in which he knew he would have to run to every day to reach all of his classes. There was a small cinema, a few small stores Will didn’t recognize the name of, a huge library, a theater where a bunch of art students with funny haircuts and interesting outfits swarmed, and a bunch of small coffee shops and cafes. Now, it was almost midnight, and Will had just gotten back a few minutes ago. He stayed by the door, staring into the blackness of his dorm. The walls were bare, grey painted, and matching the pulled-close curtains. There was a bed pushed against the walls on each side, and a closet, and next to the beds stood two small desks under the window. The room looked just like a normal college dorm you’d see in teen movies, just emptier, less welcoming. Will let out a sigh, and started packing out of his boxes. 

 

Around three am, he finally stopped his decorating and looked around his side of the room, impressed with his progress. He had switched out the grey curtains with yellow ones, and put up roller blinds behind them. His desk was decorated with his laptop and a few pictures. A picture of him and his mom that previous Christmas. A picture of his cat, Molly. A picture of his friends, sitting in the grass of the park back home, smiling with narrowed eyes, because of the sun, at the camera. His new schoolbooks and notebooks were neatly stacked in the windowsill. On the wall above his bed, he had hung up a few posters, praying his roommate wouldn’t be a dick and mock him for them. Star Wars, Voltron, Alien, the Hobbit, a really old Captain America one. All his clothes had also been stored away in the closet, and Will smiled contently at the more friendly space. He still felt restless, like he wouldn’t be able to sleep, so he decided to go for a walk to see if he could get anything to eat. He swore he had seen a sign at one of the cafes claiming it was open 24/7. He grabbed a book, tucked on a beanie and a hoodie, and made his way out of his dorm building. 

 

Will was right, a café, not too far away, had their lights on and packed with sleepless students still on their summer sleep schedule. Will ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and found a table near the counter. He sat down with his book, but was too busy looking around the room to really focus. He watched friends chat, excited to see each other again after the long summer months, sun burnt skin and bright eyes. He saw a few students reading in a sofa in the corner, lazy eyes and coffee in their hands, as if sleep would have to wait until they just finished this book. A few people were working on computers, and Will swore he even saw a boy composing music on guitar band. Will felt alive, and at home, and in a heat of the moment he texted his mom. 

**3:49am to Mom **  
**** **Just finished setting up my room. Went for a late night snack, everything is great this far. Miss and love u. **  
**Will.******

********** **

Then, just because he was feeling good, he texted his dad too. His number was saved under just Apollo, but Will didn’t really see him as his dad so it worked. 

**3:51am to Apollo **  
**Hi, Will here. I’m at college. Things are good. If you’re ever passing by, maybe come see me? Defiantly go see mom if you’re ever in Texas, I think she’ll go a little out of her mind if she only has the cat to keep her company… **********

********** **

********** **

He felt weird asking him to visit, but he clicked send anyways. He had no idea where his dad even was in the world. He had read about him in the papers a few days ago, when he was in Milano, but other than that he was pretty clueless. 

 

“Is this chair taken?” Suddenly a girl with wild blonde curls stood next to him, eyes wild and hands full of papers that looked like blueprints. She had long legs with thick thighs, with strong face features, and she was pretty. Will couldn’t deny that, even if he didn’t swing that way. Her hair looked tangled, she had pushed a blue Yankees caps over it to contain it, her eyes were stormy grey and had a little wicked glint to them, and her cheeks were red and puffy. He shook his head and gestured for her to sit down. She smiled appreciatively, dropping her papers on the small table and taking a seat. 

“Sorry” She smiled, then offered Will a calloused hand, “My name’s Annabeth”

Will shook her hand, laughing softly, “Will”

“Hi” Her eyes left Will and stared down at her papers, grabbing a pencil and started writing something. “Are you a freshman Will? I’ve never seen you around before. I know campus is huge, but I’m pretty attentive and good at remembering” Then she looked up for a moment to send Will a smirk, and he wondered if she was flirting with him.

He laughed nervously, “Yes, got here yesterday!”

“Great, you’ll love it here!” Her lack of eye contact made her statement a little less convincing, but Will still appreciated the gesture. 

“So what major?”

Will was almost shocked that she didn’t just let the conversation die out, even when she was so sucked up in her work. She didn’t look like she had the attention span to focus on anything other than the drawing in front of her. She was constructing a building that almost looked like an old Greek building, with huge colosseums and marble steps. Will frowned, then remembered her question. 

“Medicine” She looked back up at him with an impressed look on her face, as if that wasn’t what she was expecting. Will was used to people judging him on his appearance, but he didn’t feel angry at Annabeth. “And you? That’s a pretty impressive building you’ve got there!”

Annabeth looked down at her work and smiled, as if saying ‘I know right!’, “Architecture, but I do take a few other classes like some English lit ones, and a robotics class, but only because a friend of mine insisted.” Now it was Will’s turn to look impressed. 

Their conversation died down a little as Will just watched Annabeth work, her hands working incredibly fast, drawing new installments or writing sentences, and erasing them just as fast. 

“I’m designing the new library that’s opening up on the southern side of campus!” She explained, as if she knew Will was wondering. Will was wondering. “I got the task from one of my professors before summer break and I’ve been working on it ever since, much to my boyfriend’s despair” She laughed, and Will felt a little lighter, “I’m supposed to hand it in when classes start in a few days, but I just want it to be perfect.”

“Well I don’t know much about architecture, but it looks pretty damn good” 

Annabeth smiled at him like he had said something funny, and he swore he heard her mutter ‘dam’ under her breath. 

“I just want it to be a thing I’ll always be proud of! I don’t want it to be like, three years from now, and every time I think about it I’ll die of embarrassment and be like ‘WHY DID I MAKE THAT?’” She flailed her arms around her and it made Will laugh. It also made him aware of how tired Annabeth looked. As if she hadn’t slept more than a few hours since she had been handed the project. Will felt his doctoral instincts kick in. 

“I think I’m gonna head back to my dorm now, need sleep” he awaited Annabeth’s reaction, and much to his satisfaction, she broke out into a yawn and her eyes drooped at the mention of sleep. “Want me to follow you back to your dorm?” He asked, and she smiled up at him. 

“Yeah… That would be nice. But only because I know that you are totally gay and won’t try anything”

Will laughed, “How do you know that?”

Annabeth started packing up her stuff, a soft chuckle leaving her, “I always know”

 

They walked over to Annabeth’s dorm building in comfortable silence, and Will checked his phone to check the time just to see a text from Apollo.

**4:12am from Apollo **  
**** **Will, you’re going to do great in college! I’ll go see your mom in a few weeks, hopefully she hasn’t turned into a full-blown crazy-cat-lady by then ;) Be good, kid. **  
****

******“You okay?” Annabeth asked, pulling Will back to the present.** ** **

********** **

********** **

“Yeah” Then he paused, looking over at her. Will sensed that she was pretty good at reading people, and especially if they were lying, so he decided to just be honest. “My dad isn’t too great of a dad” 

She winced, like she knew the feeling, and bumped her broad shoulder against Will’s arm in a friendly way, “My dad wasn’t either. He’s come around a lot the past few years, though.”

They came to a stop in front of the entrance to Annabeth’s building, and said their goodbyes. Just when Will was about to turn on his heel and walk off, Annabeth called his name again. 

“My friend is doing this showcasing her art, at the library tomorrow, and she asked me to bring someone outside of our group of friends.” She pulled a pamphlet out of her jacked pocked and handed it to Will, “You seem like you would appreciate some socialization before classes start, so please come.”

Will looked down at the pamphlet in his hands, smiling reluctantly, “I don’t know…”

“We don’t bite. Well most of us probably won’t” Then she winked at Will again, “Just, please, I think you’d really like my friends”

Will thinks about it for a second. He hadn’t really planned anything for the next day, or in a few hours, but he felt a sick feeling in his stomach. Then he looked at Annabeth, at her friendly smile and stormy eyes, and he accepted without thinking twice. 

“Great!” Annabeth boomed, earning them a hushed yell from a girl on the second floor trying to sleep, “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Will…” Then her voice faltered, as if she was unsure of something. 

“Solace. Will Solace”

“See you tomorrow, Will Solace!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaah let me know what you think!!!! also, if you are wondering what Apollo does / works as, you'll just have to keep reading ;)))))  
> fan art is always appreciated!!! xxx  
> follow me on tumblr: nucodiangelo.tumblr.com


	2. will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will meets the gang, starts classes, and has a moody next door dorm neighbor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will just remind you all that this story includes all my headcanons (lgbtqia+ and neutoatypical), but I'm still trying to keep characters as canon as possibly. Also im adding some nerdy canon stuff: some of them take Greek and some of them (jason, reyna, frank) take Latin so like, and like I'm keeping their majors as canon as I can! also super typical pjo/hoo swearing, and Rachel does art :D
> 
> ALso, I'm not a trans male, so if you have any tips on how to write that, or you notice I write something thats off please let me know. I really want to do it justice, and not offend anyone so! help and constructive criticism please!  
> Sorry for mistakes or typos I'm trying ok? ahah

There was a boy in Will’s room. Will had been dreaming a rather pleasant dream: He was on a hill, overlooking the sunset with his cat, Molly, in his lap, and in the distance he could see his mom and dad dancing slowly to a song he didn’t know the name of. The air was warm and a soft wind caressed Will’s cheek. Then, suddenly a boy was over him, an amused look on his face as he stared down at Will. He was tall and lean, with brown flat hair that parted in the middle and a mischievous smirk on his lips. Will almost chocked on his own saliva in surprise, sitting up quickly and hitting his head against the lamp on the wall above him. 

“Gods… Ow” He grunted as he rubbed his sore scalp, glaring at the boy that had scared him. The boy just laughed, so hard tears escaped from his eyes, falling back on the bed opposite from Will’s. 

“I’m sorry, man… That was great!” He managed to get out after a while, sitting up straight and sending Will a curious look. “I’m Cecil Markowitz, your roommate”

Will narrowed his eyes but gave Cecil a smile, “If you are going to do that to me every morning, we’re going to have a problem” 

Cecil smirked, but held his hands up in defiance, “I won’t” Then his eyes scanned around the room, over Will’s posters and pictures. “Are you going to tell me your name?” 

Will let out a choked up laugh, getting out of bed an offering Cecil a hand to shake, “Will Solace” Cecil shook his hand, “I’m not usually cranky in the mornings, but I went to bed like three hours ago”

Cecil laughed, and Will found himself laughing too. 

“So I just got here, and there is no way I am going to get to work on my side of the room just yet, so how about we go grab something to eat?” Cecil grabbed an army green jacket from the desk chair, slipping it on, “You know of any good places?” 

Will just looked at Cecil for a while, a little flustered at the boy’s forwardness, but smiled and nodded his head. He got dressed and followed Cecil out of their dorm. 

As they walked towards the café, Cecil told him about his life. Cecil grew up in Seattle with his mom and his dad. Apparently, pranks were a big thing in his family, and Cecil claimed to have learned everything he knew from his father, Hermes. Cecil’s personality was strong and out there, and Will found it refreshing and fun. He couldn’t help but think that Cecil was exactly his type of person, and he was happy to have him as his roommate. 

They sat in the café, talking and eating, for hours. Until Will checked the time to find that the entire first half of the day had passed, and that Annabeth’s friend’s art showcase started in less than an hour, and Will definitely needed a shower. Cecil told him he had orientation at six thirty, and that he would see Will later, so Will sprinted back to his dorm room, grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and headed to the shower room. 

 

There was a weird taste in his mouth as he stared at the sign over the door to the boys shower room. **Renovation happening, all shower doors have been taken off for a few days. Sorry for inconvenience.** Inconvenience was an understatement. Will felt like crying. He could feel dread and panic spread in his veins, a coldness down his back and a heaviness in the bottom of his stomach. Two boys pushed past him into the shower room, and Will could clearly see the open showers. Jesus. He didn’t really know what to do now. Most college men wouldn’t want a trans gay man showering with them. Will hadn’t put his binder on when he left for breakfast with Cecil, but he would have to bind after the shower since he was going out afterwards. He felt like running away, calling his mom and just cry to her about how unfair his life was. Frustration, anger and sadness swarmed in his head. 

“You good?”

Will turned and sighed in relief when he saw Cecil, eyes amused and a towel across his neck, ready for a shower. Will didn’t really know how to answer that. _No_ , just wouldn’t cut it. _I feel like I’m melting through the floor and I cannot feel my body_ , would probably be a little too much. But that was how Will felt. Floating away from reality, and not in a good way. Not in a drunk or high way, but a dreadful horrible way where he couldn’t quite grasp something to hold on to. 

Therefore, instead of saying anything to try to explain, Will pointed up to the sign. 

Cecil frowned, taking a while to read it, like he couldn’t really read what it said. Then he smiled uneasy at Will, “That may be a little awkward” He laughed, and Will felt like screaming. 

Will didn’t know how people thought about this stuff, people like Will, in Seattle. In Texas, everything that wasn’t white, straight and cisgender was very hush-hush. Will wasn’t embarrassed about his body, or his gender, and definitely not his sexuality. But growing up where he had put him in a weird headspace about being open about it to strangers. How was he supposed to explain this all to Cecil, a guy he met only a few hours ago? 

“I have boobs” The words escaped him in an out-of-breath gasp, and he refused to look Cecil in the eyes. Gods, way to go... 

In the corner of his eye he saw Cecil nod slowly, “Okay, that’s cool” He said as if he didn’t really know what else to say, and Will felt like ten thousand tons of weight was lifted from his shoulders when he realized Cecil didn’t seem like he thought that was weird. He just looked like he was thinking really hard about the situation. Will could practically see the wires turning in his head as he concurred up a plan. For a horrible second, Will thought Cecil would ask him to just shower with the girls.

“Okay, do you use one of those binder things?” He asked, and Will nodded his head frantically, “And you don’t want to change and shower in front of a bunch of frat boys?” Will nodded his head again. 

“Cis straight boys” Will mumbled, not really knowing why.

“Well, then I’ll just stay guard in front of your shower so that no one else can see!” Then his eyes went wide, a nervous laugh escaping him, “I’ll of course keep my back towards you!”

Will felt like crying again, or hug Cecil, maybe both at the same time. 

“Come on, dude!” Cecil chirped happily and pushed the door open for Will. 

 

Cecil’s plan worked wonderfully. He stayed with his back to Will, a towel held up behind him where the shower door normally would have been, so that Will could clean off properly, dry off and put his binder on, then get dressed. He was a little scared that some of the others boys in the room would ask what they were doing, but most of them just cast them a look and shrugged. They all probably just assumed Will has insecure about his body. Will may have liked Cecil before, but nothing could explain how grateful he felt now to have him as his roommate. When he was dressed, Cecil stepped away and gave Will a wink. 

“I’ll see you later,” He said as he was getting undressed and Will was trying to fix his hair in the mirror. Trying, the key word. He pushed random strands of blond curls around until it looked like it was meant to be messy and sighed in annoyance when he realized that no matter what he did with it, it would look exactly the same. 

“If you need another shower before they fix the doors, just let me know!”

Will sent him his most appreciative smile through the mirror. 

 

When Will finally found the library again, it was already full of students swarming around and looking at the art exhibition. A waiter handed Will something that looked like champagne, but ended up just being apple cider, and he started walking around the room. He tried to look for Annabeth, but didn’t really see her around. Then he started looking for people that seemed like they knew Annabeth, but didn’t really know what he was looking for. There was a painting that drew Will in. It was huge, filled up almost an entire showcase wall, and in that one art style that Will liked the most. Expressionism. 

“That’s one of Rachel’s,” Someone suddenly said next to him, and he turned to find Annabeth smiling up at him. She was wearing a dress, and it looked nice with her broad shoulders and thick thighs. The dress was dark grey and tight to her body, and she was wearing a light-washed denim jacket over it. Her curly blond hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her bangs were messy and falling into her eyes. She looked like she could have been Will’s big sister. 

“What?” Will said, like an idiot, because he totally forgot what she had said. 

“My friend Rachel,” She pointed to a girl talking to a group of people in the corner of the room. She had big red curly hair and was dressed in white overalls with paint splatters all over them. The overalls might have looked nice if they weren’t so dirty, but the girl seemed to be going for a messy artist vibe. “She’s really good… Those are hers too” Annabeth pointed to a few other, really good, paintings around the room. 

“Yeah, she is!” Will agreed, and suddenly Annabeth was dragging him towards the group of people in the corner. They all stopped talking when Annabeth stopped in front of them, and the smile of her face made Will nervous.

“Everyone, this is the medic student I talked about! Will, this is… Everyone” They all smile and wave at Will. 

“Hi”

Annabeth’s boyfriend introduced himself as ‘Percy Master-of-Sealife Jackson… I study aquamarine life by the way if you didn’t catch that’. He was tall with dark tanned skin, black messy hair and piercing green eyes. He was kind of lanky, but his chest was wide and his muscles were prominent. Annabeth was looking at him with an annoyed frown, but her eyes were bright, as if he was the silliest but most wonderful boy in the universe. 

The others introduced themselves too. There was Jason, Piper, Leo, Grover, Frank, Hazel, Thalia, Reyna and Rachel. Will shook all their hands, and he even got a hug from Hazel. She was short and dark skinned, with light brown curly hair and rosy cheeks. Will wanted to adopt her as his little sister immediately. He didn’t really know anything about them, so he stayed in the background, just listening to their conversation. The shorter Latino boy, Leo, was frantically trying to explain a robot he and Annabeth was working on in their robotics class to Thalia who seemed completely done with him. Rachel explained a few of her paintings, and Annabeth spit out random facts about painters who used similar styles. Piper and Hazel were the only ones who tried to talk with Will directly. They asked about his major, and his life in Texas, and his mom. All of Annabeth’s friends were kind, and it felt like they all just kind of adopted Will into their group, which was nice. He didn’t really feel like an outsider, or like they didn’t really want him there. Will wasn’t used to the feeling of fitting in, and he couldn’t help the silly wide grin on his face as he talked.

When the exhibit was over, they all left to get food at a place a few miles off campus. Piper claimed that they had the best vegan pizza she had ever had, and Frank backed her up on that statement, seeing as he also was vegan. Will was tired, with only a few hours of sleep, and his binder was hurting a little, but he was having fun. Hazel laced her arm with his as they walked, and Leo asked him about anatomy (for some reason, Will didn’t ask). 

Will leaned down towards Hazel, “You’re a pretty big group of friends” 

Hazel laughed, swinging the hand that was holding Frank’s back and forth between them, “Well this isn’t even us at full capacity! Drew, Piper’s sister is sick, and my stepbrother, Nico is… Well he just didn’t come along.” She frowned slightly, but Will decided not to ask. Family troubles weren’t something he was a stranger to.

“So normally we’re around thirteen people, and now fourteen!” Frank said from besides Hazel, giving Will the sweetest smile Will had even seen such a big muscled person ever do. 

Will thought about that for a moment. Back home he had two friends: Stacy and Mark. Here, if he wanted to, he could have a group of thirteen wonderful people. It made his heart flutter. College life was just getting better and better. 

“Doesn’t it get chaotic? How do you find spaces big enough for all of you to hang out?” They were walking over a hill, the sun setting in the distance. It painted the sky in red and purple, and Will had a strange urge to reach up and touch the red clouds above him. In front of him, Piper and Jason were walking hand-in-hand, leading everyone. Behind them were Percy, Annabeth, Thalia and Grover, Rachel and Reyna, talking about something so excitedly, Will wondered what the topic could be. Then there was Hazel, Frank and Will, and behind them Leo was tinkering with some pieces of scrap metal. 

“We don’t hang out all of us at the same time, most of the time… Most of us don’t share similar schedules,” Hazel said, playing with a strand of her golden hair, “I don’t even go to college yet!” It didn’t shock Will. Hazel looked like she was around seventeen, with full cheeks and bright eyes. “I go to high school a few miles north of the city”

“We mostly hang out with whoever’s available, when we can” Frank explained, “And then we try to meet up, all of us, like once a week”

Will liked that. He liked these people, and the fact that they were all such close friends even if they didn’t hang out every single day. 

 

Will started classes a few days later. He didn’t have a very busy schedule, just a few classes a week, and he enjoyed all of them. He only had two professors he didn’t love, and he had weekends and Tuesdays off. He and Cecil studied together at the café every day, and most days, Will’s other friends would pour through the door and slip down next to them by the table, bringing with them coffee and good conversations.

It was Thursday afternoon, Will had just gotten to the café from his last class of the day, and Cecil, Percy, Leo and Reyna were already sitting there when he entered. 

“Hello, Solace” Leo grinned, making space for him in the sofa, moving a few papers and schoolbooks out of the way. “You want coffee?” He held up an empty cup and a coffee jug. Will nodded his head, and sighed happily. 

Percy was moaning and complaining about a class he had to take on economics, and Reyna kept rolling her eyes every time he would let out a groan. 

“Have anyone seen Nico since they got back after summer? Or even this summer?” Reyna asked after a while, and the rest of the groups mood went down immediately. 

“Well, I texted him a few times this summer, but he wasn’t very responsive to me,” Percy mumbled a blush on his cheeks, “But Hazel said spent a lot of time with her and their dad, and that he was doing good.”

“I saw him the other day walking to class, but I didn’t have time to stop and chat with him…” Leo said, hands nervously fidgeting with a few wires and metal pieces.

“Who’s Nico? And why are you so concerned for him?” Will asked, curiously. He remembered what Hazel had said about her brother. How he ‘just didn’t come along’ with his friends to Rachel’s art exhibit. 

“He’s a friend of ours, freshman this year. Hazel’s stepbrother. We aren’t exactly concerned… He’s just a little distant, most of the time… He’ll come around when he want to.” Percy’s eyes were a little dark, and he bit his lip as he tapped a pencil against his chin. 

Will nodded, not intrigued enough to ask more questions. He grabbed a book from his bag and started his essay for anatomy class, sipping his coffee and listening to his friends talk. 

A text buzzed in on his phone an hour later. 

**7:36pm from Mom**  
**Remember to get enough sleep, Will. I cannot wait to see you again! Molly missed you too. Our little sunshine boy.**  
**Love, Mom.**

 

It was midnight, shadows cast over Will’s dorm room, and the moon was bright and huge outside his window. He was sitting by his desk, still working on his essay. His window was open, and the September air was warm and sweet, filling Will’s room with a calming aroma. People were walking by outside, laughing and talking loudly, and Will was distracted. Cecil was asleep on his bed. He had passed out the second they came from the café, and Will was trying his hardest to be as silent as possible, to avoid waking the boy. Will was distracted, and barely working, but the music from the room next to theirs was still bothering him. There was a deep bass vibrating through the wall separating the rooms, and if Will really listened he could hear heavy guitar riffs and loud bangs of drums. Groaning, he pushed himself up from his desk. He wondered why RA hadn’t told them to quite down yet, because quite hour was at eleven. Will took matters into his own hands and knocked on the dorm door. 

For a while, there was no response. Then the music was turned off, and Will could hear shuffling of feet against the floor. Then the door opened. The room inside was so dark, Will could barely make out the boy in front of him. He was shorter than Will, by a couple of inches, had dark long-ish hair that fell into dark rimmed eyes. A scowl was on his face, but he had a dark blush on his cheek as he looked up at Will. For a moment, Will completely forgot why he had even knocked on the door in the first place, too intrigued by the shorter, dark, boy in front of him. 

“Can I help you?” The boy’s voice was groggy and hoarse, but not as dark as Will was expecting, and it threw him off for a few seconds.

“Help? Oh… yes, uhm… Your music is- Well it’s a little too loud for this hour!” Will stuttered, and the boy narrowed his brows at him, “I’m trying to do some school work, and my roommate is asleep, so if you could like put in headphones of something, that’d be great.”

The boy just looked at Will with a curious look on his face, and the more Will’s eyes got used to the darkness of the hallway and the dorm room, the more he could make out of the boy’s features. His eyes were a dark color, Will couldn’t really tell which though, and they were rimmed with a purple tint. His full lips had been in a permanent scowl ever since he opened the door. His skin was a little pale, but a nice olive tone, as if he would normally be pretty tan, but had stayed inside for weeks. The boy was wearing a black, kind of oversized against his small frame, shirt with a skull on, grey sweatpants and socked feet. 

“Sure, dude… I’ll ‘put in headphones or something’” The boy suddenly said, bringing Will back to the present. He felt his cheeks heat up a little, but kept his posture.

“Thanks, I-“ He didn’t get to finish what he was about to say as the boy rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut in Will’s face. For a moment, Will just stayed there, staring at the wood, blinking like an idiot. Then he frowned. Great… He had a moody, groggy, dorm neighbor that likes to listen to loud rock music and hates other people. 

Then he turned on his heel and stalked back to his own room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey ho, thank u for reading!!! I'm so thankful for the response to the first chapter, and would aboslutely love if you could give me feedback on this chapter. What do you think so far???  
> Also, if anyone would want to draw fanart, it would make me the HAPPIEST girl in the world! No matter the skill, it would be highly appreciated and loved xxx  
> Follow me on tumblr: nucodiangelo.tumblr.com


	3. nico

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico reunites with the gang, Will chokes and Hazel is concerned.  
> Also Drew talks a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh ok i am so sorry for disappearing for so long!!! My mental health went through hell and I ended a relationship with a guy i loved so like i feel like i should be at least a little bit excused for the shortness and typos of this chapter... Its the first one in Nico's POV and i feel like you'll get a little sneak peak at what my characterization of him will be (also don't worry, he's not always moody and sad, i just kind of manifested myself into him as a character when it comes to mental health so psa) ok sorry for rant, hope you enjoy xx

“How have you been the past two weeks? You haven’t really talked to anyone…” Percy seemed a bit uncomfortable, he was fiddling with his hands as they walked towards the library. When Nico thought about it, Percy always seemed like that around him. Hazel had practically complained Nico’s ear off about him having to leave his dorm room for something other than class, and come study with them in the library. What she hadn’t mentioned was that Percy would fucking escort him, as if Nico didn’t know the way. On the other hand, maybe she was just concerned he wouldn’t show up if no one went and got him from his room. Either way, it annoyed Nico. 

If anyone asked, he would lie and say that he hadn’t missed Percy during the summer, not even a bit. Nevertheless, if he was to be honest with himself, he had felt a surge of happiness when he opened his door to find green eyes and a bright smile waiting for him. He would never admit that aloud, of course. 

“Yeah… I’ve just been trying to get a head-start at my classes and stuff.” Nico mumbled in answer, shoving his cold hands into the front pockets of his tight jeans. He hadn’t bothered to put a jacket on, thinking he wouldn’t get cold on the ten minutes walk to the library, but now, as a chill went up his spine, he kind of regretted that decision. 

“Okay…” Something in Percy’s voice didn’t sound exactly convinced, but he didn’t push Nico on the subject, “If there’s anything I can do for you, or if you just need to… I don’t know, talk or just hang out… I am here for you. You know that, right? Because I totally am! All of us are…”

Nico swallowed down the sinking feeling in his chest and nodded his head.

There weren’t too many students in the library, seeing as most people had class, and Nico couldn’t see any of his friends in the open seating area by the front door. 

“C’mon” Percy urged, nodding his head towards the shelves. Nico followed suit, walking past a few shelves of books towards a seating area in the back of the library. In a heap of beanbags sat Hazel, Frank, Piper, Drew and two boys Nico didn’t recognize. 

“Nico!” Hazel boomed, standing up to grab him a beanbag so he could sit down next to her. She was wearing one of Frank’s huge sweatshirts, drowning her small body in it, and her hair was in space buns. Nico almost wanted to pinch his sister’s cheeks. _Almost _.__

__A choking sound was heard to his right, and Nico’s head snapped up to meet a familiar pair of blue eyes and a mess of blond curls. The boy was patting himself on the chest as he coughed, setting down a juice box on the floor next to him. His eyes were filled with tears, but he was still keeping eye contact with Nico, which made the latter extremely uncomfortable._ _

__“Are you okay Will?” Hazel asked, a trace of a giggle in her tone._ _

__The boy, Will, finally calmed down, breathing heavily, and in the light that streamed in from the windows his eyes were as bright as the sky outside. Stupid boy next door, Nico thought, sitting down on his beanbag and frowning at Will._ _

__“Yes” Will said with a little struggle at Hazel, and then he turned his attention back to Nico, “Hi.”_ _

__Nico felt a sudden urge to get up and leave. Everyone were looking at him with strange looks on their faces. Piper and Drew were fucking smirking at him. Percy just seemed confused by the scene in front of him. Will was wearing tight black jeans and a pastel pink shirt, his curls looked even curlier and angelic in the light of the day. Was this guy for real?_ _

__Nico mustered up the urge to speak, “Hey” His voice came out sounding out-of-breath, and Nico wanted to slap himself._ _

__“Do you already know each other?” Hazel spoke, unsure, looking between the two._ _

__Nico snorted._ _

__“Err… No… We’re… Our rooms are next to each other.” Will said, still eyeing Nico. “We met last night because he was listening to his music a little too loud past quite hour. It was impossible to get my anatomy essay done with the chaotic sound from the room next to ours.” He pointed to the boy sitting to his left. A rather dull looking skinny guy with flat reddish-brown hair and a permanent smirk on his face gave Nico a lazy wave._ _

__Nico snorted again, “I bet your music taste is real joyful…”_ _

__Will’s face almost lit up as soon as the words left Nico’s mouth, “It is, thank you!”_ _

__“I mean…” The boy next to Will started, “It’s not what you all would imagine”_ _

__“What do you mean?” Frank asked. He was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of Hazel, leaning his elbows on the table between all the beanbags. He looked a little bored, and like there were a hundred other things he would rather be doing today than study in the library._ _

__“You look at Will and you expect something like, I don’t know, Coldplay and maybe some radio pop music, and because he’s southern some country… But the guy listens to mainly hip hop and rap!”_ _

__“So you mean he doesn’t like Coldplay?” Piper chimed in, a playful smile on her lips, and Will gasped._ _

__“What kind of person doesn’t like Coldplay?” There was a joking tune to his tone, but the look in his eyes told Nico that if anyone tried to say they didn’t enjoy Coldplay, he would judo-kick them into the next dimension._ _

__Nico choked on a snort, sitting down next to Hazel as he watched the conversation unfold. Drew was asking Will about what rappers he liked, and if he had heard any of the new Gorillaz song, and what he thought about Childish Gambino’s new album. Will answered every question she threw his way with ease, something Nico never managed to do. Nico really liked Drew, because past her snarky attitude, she was sweet and caring, and a really good friend. Drew knew absolutely everything about pop-culture, celebrities and hit music. On Nico’s good days, he really enjoyed spending time with her. On his bad days, however, he felt like every word that left her mouth drained him of more and more energy, until he was left a hollow shell of nothingness, and had to spend three days in isolation to get the energy back._ _

__Will was nodding his head at something she said, smiling so widely, all his teeth were showing. Nico growled, grabbing a book from his backpack to distract himself from the stupidly pretty boy in front of him._ _

__The words on the paper didn’t even make sense. They were all mushing together and forming new, un-existing, words. The frustration hit Nico sooner than he would like, and he gave up on even trying to deal with his dyslexia when there was so much going on around him. Why had Hazel even asked him to come when she must have known there wouldn’t be a chance that he would be able to focus? Maybe she just wanted to keep an eye on him. She probably thought he couldn’t take care of himself, which he couldn’t, but the thought still made him angry._ _

__“Nico?”_ _

__He turned to Hazel next to him. She was smiling, but her eyes told Nico she was concerned. Her hand was grasping Frank’s tightly, but he didn’t seem to notice or find it strange. It seemed as if she was holding onto him for support as her eyes studied Nico’s face._ _

__“Are you ok?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes wet and smile tight._ _

__Nico remembered two months back, at the start of summer, that night Hazel had come up to his room at their father’s mansion teary eyed and frustrated. She had cried and he had held her, not saying anything because what was there to say? And she had been so angry at him, yelling about how he couldn’t do this to himself anymore and crying over how scared she was to lose him. In the moment Nico had remembered loosing Bianca, and felt so angry with himself, he had promised her to try harder to be better._ _

__Now that he looked her, she looked, behind her tight smile, just as angry._ _

__“Not to good, sorry” He said honestly, not feeling up to lying to her right now. She let out a breath, nodding her head and grabbing his hand with her free one._ _

__“You should let me know when you’re feeling bad Nico… I know I can’t help but I should know.”_ _

__Nico nods, because he’s been programmed to. Because there isn’t much else to do when she’s looking at him with those intense eyes and when all their friends are around and could be sneaking on their conversation. Hazel seems content with that, because she doesn’t really understand, and goes back to her book with a last loving smile._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please like and let me know what you think! I've missed writing so hopefully there won't be this long of a wait for the next chapter xxx love you all


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